^^that is one ******* sick car!

 

I'd go with a c6 z06. You can feel the increase in weight though in the corners.

 

Add 315 wheels and tires, 14 inch brakes etc... to your FD and it will weigh as much as a corvette. The corvette is a very light weight car and is EASILY the best all around performing car on the market for the money.

Power to the weight in the c6 absolutely kicks the FDs *** upside down and sideways and what you're feeling in the corner isn't the weight it's a car that's not connected to the driver.

GT3s weigh the same as a corvette and feel incredible in a corner which is why people pay 150k for them even though the z06 out performs them in almost every category.

If the corvette felt good in a corner we'd all own one and the reason most of us own a 3rd gen is because of how FUN (how good they feel in a corner) they are to drive.

BOTTOMLINE: If you want to go fast buy a corvette if you want to have fun driving a car get a GT3. If you can't afford a GT3 get an FD. Yep that's how good the FD is 20 years later and it's still one of the top 10 drivers cars of all time. Hands down the least expensive most fun to drive car ever built.

 

whats the best driver's car on the market, and how would you (as unbiasedly as possible) say the rx7 stacks up to it

- my vote is the cayman r?

 

Caymans are boring to drive compared to a GT3. They are nice neutral cars with lots of feedback but honestly not enough knife edge or on the edge living when driving one. The GT3 like the FD is all about pointing the front in the right direction with incredible steering feel, balancing the ***, then standing on the gas and dealing with whatever may come and you won't find that AS MUCH in a cayman. Again very few cars feel as connected from the steering sensations to the front contact patch or to the rear contact patch as the GT3 or the FD.

I'm not comparing a stock FD which even in stock form is a pretty raw car remember it pulled almost 1g on 225 50 16 bridgestone summer tires. However put proper wheels and tires on it and upgrade the susp to match and it will KILL the current cayman R in driver feel and cornering ability. When the cayman 1st came out I immediately test drove one and at that time I was running around in your typical 300 rwhp bolt on FD (still do that now) and I was extremely let down. I instructed an advanced student last year in a cayman race car and it felt pretty good but not even as good as a bone stock GT3. Not enough power, feel or stick to really get that much joy out of lapping it but it would sure kick a spec miata's ***

 

Here's a vid from the last time I had the FD out at the track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMkTDOfIObg

Skip to about the 5 minute mark which is when I catch up to traffic and notice the cayman, the gutted 350z race car, the GTR etc..... All running on typical hoosier type race rubber driven by instructors. Good tires and susp upgrades and the GT3 will run about the same lap times I was running.

I'm driving at about my 9/10nths level because there's a passenger in the car about 2 seconds off of what the car did in the time trial later that day.

PS It's not making crazy power approx 340 to 350 at the wheels and 2800lbs w/ me in the seat.

 

Thanks for sharing Fritz.... Talk and videos like that excite me for when I get to take my FD to a 'proper' track one day...

I live the fact that your FD passed the GT-R... I respect wgat they can do, but they are way too over hyped in my opinion...

If you have any more videos, or input i would, as well as I'm sure others woukd love to hear it aswell..


J.

 

I replaced my FD with a C5 Z06. I currently have Drs on the rear so I can't comment on handling compared to my FD with RS2s. But the Z is an absolute blast to drive. It's a noticeably larger and slightly heavier. But even with the Drs it's an absolute blast to drive. I can't wait to get some tires with a stiffer sidewall to really have some fun. But first I'd like to get my first 10 sec timeslip (or booted from the track for trying lol.)

 

+1

 

My pleasure I love talking FD smack!

The Cayman R is a super cool car but it's not really in the same league as a well prepped FD or bone stock GT3. Now if Porsche ever puts a 3.8 or 4.0 in it along with some aero to match the power/speed, fat tires and susp etc... well LOOK OUT. BUT most don't think Porsche has the ***** to design a car that's superior to the 911.

PS I just bought a nicely prepped Cayman by the way and may or may not track it. If I do track it I'll be sure to get back to the thread w/ some info. Again with a 3.8 conversion, a big wing etc... it may well be the be all end all.

 

Id really love the opportunity to drive a 911, especially a GT3. Unfortunately, I dont know if its possible to do that without actually buying one first. Ive been seriously considering a C6 Z06 purchase in the next year or so, but have always been intrigued by the GT3s and would love to own one, but at the entry price its probably double a C6 Z, and with the engine in the "wrong place", Im just a bit nervous about how it will actually feel. I almost feel like youd be on edge the entire time anticipating having to recover from when it tries to kill you.

 

If and when my engine goes, it's getting parted out.

Then ill be in the market for an lsx fd. Already tastefully done, outside and inside.

If I can't find that, c6z here I come. Most likely ill go with the z. Cause maybe by the time my engine goes, the price will be where I want it.

 

Don't think I can do a vette or a P car. Ill stick with the FD because I don't have money to blow like Fritz wind the FD will always be unique, rare, and, I think, the best looking

Well see what Lotus comes up with in a few years...

 

If Lotus is even around, seems to be day by day now.

 

Why not turbo a Cayman and do some proper suspension upgrades? So far that's been my only theory on what I would do without my FD. It's a little heavy, but with something like the TPCRacing 987 Cayman S Turbo Kit, you're pushing 460HP. Which probably isn't much more than a lot of us already have, but still isn't bad.

I've thought about this question a lot as have all of you... current thoughts are... (targeting mostly <$80k)

1. Cayman with 460HP Turbo kit and suspension mods
2. Z06 - cheap interior, too common...
3. Evora - underpowered even with mods and pushing budget out of control
4. Elise - underpowered even with mods and pushing the impracticality issue
5. Viper - Too scary on the edge, too many stories of 'it was great until that one day...'
6. GTR - WAY too heavy and too many gizmos
7. M3 - I'd get one for my wife
8. 1M - Be fun if i was 18 again and i hear the interior quality is sub-par for a bmw
9. 911 - too expensive for a model that would be fun to own
10. 370Z - too mundane - 3200lbs (which is ironically light for todays standards).

Money is no object new car
McLaren MP4-12C

Fantasy
Mazda builds one of the gorgeous concept 4th gen rx-7's for under $60k (which is close to what the rx-7 would cost in 2012 dollars compared to 1993 dollars).

Ironic:
I'd buy a new RX-7 FD today with little or no changes to the final models they were building.

 

^^

The fd has a cheap interior too. And IMO worse than the z06.

And before you say well the z06 costs much more than the fd, its supposed to have a better interior etc.

1: the fd back then was almost 40k, this was back in mid-late 1992 when it hit the showroom floor, that was alot of money back then. Almost equating to today's money for the z06.

2: like the fd, the z06 wasn't made with luxury in mind. It never was. It was made to be light and jaw dropping fast. And it succeeded tenfold.

I know those are your opinions but so far it seems like the only downside to the z06 was the cheap interior. You don't get a z06 for its interior. You get it for its performance. Our fd's don't exactly have Porsche interiors. Come on now lol.

 

I never quite got why people bitch so much about the C6 interiors. I actually think its pretty good. No, its no Audi.. but IMO theres nothing that really stands out to bitch about. I dont really care for all the buttons around the gauge cluster, but other than that.. Theyre worlds better than C5 or Fbody interiors.

 

List price of R2 Rx-7 in 1994 with CD player, floor mats and freight was 39,531 for a 2012 cost equivalent of 61,579 about 15 k less than an optioned Cayman .. way before the 460 Hp mods.
You call the Evora underpowered but at least the "S" version is on par with Carrera in power performance and price plus much better handling and nicer interior. Now my Special Edition has 390 Hp before I add the CAI and sport exhuast for a push over 4. The standard 345 Hp S version does 0-60 in 4.2 sec with only three other cars on you list quicker and maybe only one with higher handling numbers.

 

Well, its certainly not the only reason why NOT the Z06. I'm saying the Z06 is probably my second choice out of the group. There is no denying its capabilities. I think the interior is a build quality issue (and it could be a perception issue) in that I have a feeling that within a few months everything is going to rattle and creak :P But, more importantly, I hate that it doesn't stand out from the rest of the vettes. There are zillions of corvettes on the road and I would like something that stands out. But, from a performance perspective its hard to beat. I think the cayman is higher up mainly because it's lighter. Add a turbo and you're similar power with a lighter more refined package IMHO.

As for the price, isn't that exactly what I said? The RX-7 today would be about $60k in 2012 dollars ($40k back in the day).

How do you like your Evora? I forgot they made the S version have some decent power. I think its an absolutely gorgeous car. It was on the top of my list for awhile. The interior was great when I first sat in the Evora back when they were first showing it at the car show. It's JUST out of my price range I think, but that may change...

I think most important for me is how the car behaves in a corner. I've lived in canyons my entire life and fell in love with the RX-7's neutral handling. I don't want a car that is going to spin me out just because of a minor error. There needs to be a buffer for correction. It also needs to be light and have plenty of power and feel connected. I should just put half the money i'd be paying in payments back in to my RX-7 and wait a bit and see what happens and save the other half as a down on something when i can actually make a decision.

 

Vettes just seem to be a mid 40s/50s meathead car - nothing against the car, just the truth

 

I am starting to observe one of the main factors in how people choose a car is how they will be perceive when they are driving the said car.

It's interesting how other's perception on you weight more than what the car can do for you.

 

GM always had plastic interiors. The c6 interior is very nice. And again not one of its strong points. It never intended to have a nice interior. Its main objective was elsewhere. To be light, to be fast, and to look good. It succeeded In all of those.

I just find it funny fd owners have the nerve to discredit a car because of a cheap interior when our interiors are cheap. And worse lol

But in a way I understand they have to say cheap interior because if they didn't brainwash themselves with that, we'll all be driving c6z's lol

It is basically an fd on steroids. But more reliable lol

 

Typically for me its performance-per-dollar invested, final word, but it's also true the community matters to some extent. Hard core sport bike riders are people I connect with, and the FD is more or less a parallel of that attitude with four wheels. Look at the vette community or Supra community, again, most of them are meatheads.

The rotary is against the grain, I code to that because I want little to do with the herd.

 

Why don't you BUY ONE THEN? The constant 12 year old drooling is so tedious.

 

I think your word usage is wrong lol.

But anyway I only have one space for one weekend car. My gto I park on the street. I won't park a c6z on the street.

If i can move into a place with a tandum garage or just a 2 car garage I might do it.

Other than that I'm almost sure if and when my engine goes, I'm gonna part it out then shop for Z.